Mortality
by 1in100Authors
Summary: Because sometimes we make mistakes. And sometimes these mistakes affect us permanently... but sometimes it's someone else's mistake that eventually leads us to the right conclusions, even if knowing hurts. Or, when Percy accepts godhood at the end of TLO and Annabeth is left to ponder on some things. Winner of the Demigod Awards in Most Life-Changing One-Shot category.


**Summary: Because sometimes we make mistakes. And sometimes these mistakes affect us permanently... but sometimes it's someone else's mistake that eventually leads us to the right conclusions, even if knowing hurts. Or, if Percy accepts godhood.**

**Usual disclaimer applies.**

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><p><em>If you do take anything away from this little thing, let it be this: A human's lifespan is like a brightly lit candle. When the wax wears out, it's gone. Being immortal is like having the candle without the fire, without the blazing passions and dreams... it's a sort-of-life that contains no meaning. When you have forever, nothing pushes you to pursue the things you want, but knowing the limits of mortality and being forced to carry out your plans because of that limitation... that's the point of it all. <em>

_S__o, my friends, dare not believe that time is against you. Rather, it is there to challenge you. You have 36500 days (in total) to pursue your dreams. So the question is... are you up to the challenge?_

_-1in100Authors_

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><p>He answered without hesitation. "Yes."<p>

The first thing she felt was dismay. Soon, however, it escalated into anger and irritation. Annabeth's body went rigid. She wanted so badly just to yell at Percy. Years ago she would have taken godhood in a heart beat. She was just so tired of being underestimated just because of her age and the fact that she wielded a knife instead of a sword that anything would have been better than staying in the shadows, left to remember the horrors of her past and the fleeting hope of meeting her mother; hopes that she never thought would become reality. Annabeth would much rather be able to forget and live a peaceful life on Mt. Olympus. But that was before she went on her first quest - the first of many - with Percy.

_And Grover,_ she reminded herself, and she couldn't help but blush for forgetting.

Percy showed her possibilities that she never dared to dream of. He showed her that it wasn't all about proving yourself. Sometimes it was just about doing the right thing and sticking up for your friends. And he showed her what true friendship was and he said that he wouldn't leave - just like everyone else had before they eventually did - and for once in her lifetime she had believed someone because she thought that maybe things were looking up for her and maybe it was Percy who she'd been waiting for all this time to help her and... and...

It was like he put the thousands of pieces of her heart slowly back together only for him to shatter it into millions of tinier fragments, reminding her _exactly_ why she never let anyone in. She never wanted to be heartlessly cold but she was tired of trying to put back the pieces of her broken self. No, Annabeth never liked to clean up other people's messes (even though that's pretty much all she's ever done) and she was getting tired. But the more she thought about it, she realized that it was herself to blame because _she _was the one who let it happen.

_Never again,_ Annabeth promised herself. _Never again._

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><p>"You know, with Percy out of the picture, you and I could be together for eternity," a familiar voice said.<p>

"This is the last time I say it," Annabeth replied, "I am _not _joining the Hunters, Thalia. And don't phrase it so it sounds like that. It's just wrong on so many levels."

"How so?" asked a grinning Thalia.

"First of all, you're my best friend. Second, you're a _Hunter_. You know, Hunters of Artemis, people who aren't allowed to date?" Annabeth explained.

"I see your point, but it was fun to mess with you. Anyway, Percy's no longer available, you know. Most girls come to the Hunt right after they get their hearts broken to console themselves," Thalia shrugged.

Annabeth glared at the Huntress. "So I can be categorized as _most girls_ now, huh? After being in the Hunt for two years, you're starting to lose your grip on the outside world."

She walked away without another word, leaving Annabeth to think to herself.

Did she want to join the Hunt just because Percy had chosen to become a god? No. Definitely not. She wasn't a pathetic crybaby. She is _Annabeth Chase,_ newly named Architect of Olympus. She wouldn't throw her life away because something didn't go right in her life. No, Annabeth would trump the odds like she always did and she would keep on going... because giving up now wouldn't stop the pain of being left. It would prevent the possibility of feeling happy and chasing her dreams. Other people might have just given up, but she wasn't 'other people'. She was wise, strong and brave. Strong, because she always kept going. Brave, because she never let her fear overwhelm her. Wise, because she made the right decisions... because she never would have chosen to become immortal. Even when the world seemed to be against her, that was clear.

Yes, she wanted to forget her pain, but she would move on. Yes, she was tired of being ignored and left, but she could give people reason not to. And yes, the infinite time could heal her already shattered heart, but she would learn to mend it herself.

A human's lifespan is like a brightly lit candle. When the wax wears out, it's gone. Being immortal is like having the candle without the fire, without the blazing passions and dreams... it's a sort-of-life that contains no meaning. When you have forever, nothing pushes you to pursue the things you want, but knowing the limits of mortality and being forced to carry out your plans because of that limitation... that's the point of mortality. That's the thing that tempts the gods into having children with 'lowly' mortals: so they can feel a bit of that fire.

But the gods have long forgotten this wisdom, and they are quick to judge those with a limited lifespan... even though long, long ago, mortality is what they craved most.

Perhaps if she dug deep enough, she would find this wisdom in Percy's heart... so deep that he may never even realize the cause of his melancholy through the years. Annabeth smiled sadly at the thought. Maybe he would just forget her as the years pass by, blown away by the wind that sweeps time with it. It shouldn't have hurt, but it did. But really, in the grand scheme of things, what was she? He had several millenniums now. The insignificant four years that was their friendship would fade with time.

_It could be for the best,_ Annabeth thought. _He was always too loyal. It would hurt him so much to know that he can no longer interfere in the human world... it would hurt even more to see him come to the realization. Loyalty didn't pull him back this time._

That thought hurt, but her next musing felt like a blow to her gut. _I didn't pull him back this time._

The true depth of that dwelling thought and what she meant by it would never be known, for she was interrupted.

"Annabeth!" a familiar voice called.

She swerved around to look at the person talking to her. "Yes, mother?"

"I just had a great idea for a statue," Athena replied, a knowing glint in her eye. "It would be to honor the fallen heroes. I have the design mostly mapped out, but I want to see if you wanted to add some finishing touches. A different type of column, maybe a small detail here and there, a written dedication..."

Perhaps Percy and herself would never come to be, but she could learn to move on if she really tried to. But in the present, it served as a valuable lesson and it was in that moment that she realized how much of an influence these people had on her. Being disregarded all her life made her a fighter. It made the fight harder, but through the obstacles she learned that she didn't need to prove herself to the world. The most important thing to do is to prove yourself to _you._ Nobody has to acknowledge the good things you've done. All that matters is that _you _know, because the exhilarating feeling of having done something great is far better than someone else realizing it. Having knowledge and keeping it to yourself is better than flaunting your knowledge to the world, because some things are better left as secrets.

So maybe the gods would never realize how beautiful mortality is, and maybe Percy would never realize how large of a mistake he had made. Maybe Thalia wouldn't ever understand her again, but that was okay. _She_ did. And in the end, that's all that ever matters.

And it might take a lifetime for Annabeth to stop hurting from the past, but that was okay too. She could take her time.

"Annabeth, dear!" Athena called once more. "Are you coming or what?"

She was still mad at Percy, but it was fading into a small stab of pain for both him and herself. The possibilities of them becoming something were gone, but it wasn't all over for her. She still had so much to do, and she wished Percy the best. If he was hurting, Annabeth hoped that he would mend quickly.

She grinned. "I'll be right there, mom."

Percy taught her something valuable, even though it took for him to make a mistake that was possibly the worst he'd ever make... and for that, she was grateful, because she finally understood.

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><p><strong>I hope you learned something from this and were moved by it just as much as it moved me.<strong>

**-1in100Authors**


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